Shoe.



J. WEHRWEIN.

SHOE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY 13, 1913 Patented Jan. 6, 1914.

INVENTOR efolm. mhrwez'n,

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CD.,WASHINUTON D C ATTORNEY JOHN WEE-IRWEIN, OFSI-IAWMONT, PENNSYLVANIA.

SHOE.

Application filed May 13, 1913.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that 1, JOHN "Wnrmwnm, a citizen of the United States,residing at Shawmont, in the county of Montgomery and. State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inShoes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in. shoes, and more particularly toan improved shoe closure designed to take the place of the ordinary shoelacing or shoe button, the object of the invention being to provide anornamental arrangement of crossed straps with snap buttons at the endsthereof, permitting the ready lacing or closing of the shoe, and whichresults in an ornamental and attractive shoe.

A further object is to provide improvements of this character which maybe used in connection with any form of shoe, and in which the straps ortabs may be made ofany suitable material and ornamented in any desiredway in accordance with the shoe.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certainnovel features of construction and combinations and arrangements ofparts, as will be more fully hereinafter described and pointed out inthe claims.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective viewillustrating a shoe with my improvements thereon. Fig. 2 is an enlargedfragmentary front elevation. Fig. 3 a

is a View in section on the line 33 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is aperspective view of one of the straps and a fragment of the shoe towhich it is attached.

1 represents a shoe having an open front behind which an ordinary tongue2 is located. Across this tongue 2, the two edges 3, 8, of the openfront of the shoe are connected by my improved straps 4 as will beexplained. These straps may be made of leather, elastic, or any suitablematerial, and are crossed as shown forming an ornamental and attractiveclosure for the shoe. All of the straps are secured to the shoe by snapbuttons, one member 5 of the snap button being carried by the free endof the strap, while the other member 6 of another snap button securesthe end of the strap to the shoe.

By reference particularly to Fig. 8, it will be seen that the member 6constitutes two Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 6, 1914.

Serial No. 767,252.

disks 7 and 8 located at opposite sides of the shoe, disk 8 beingprovided with a headed shank 9 extended through the material of the shoeand projected above disk 7 in position to be engaged by the member 5 ofthe snap button. This member 5 also comprises two parts 10 and 11 whichclamp the material of the strap 4: between them, and member 10 has aclamping socket 12 which projects through the material of the strap andis housed within an ornamental cap 13 on part 11. By this means the snapbutton members constitute a permanent part of the straps, one memberbeing utilized for attaching the strap to the shoe, and the other memberfree to engage over one of the first-mentioned members to quickly securethe strap across the open front of the shoe.

The two lowermost straps preferably have their lower ends on the outsideof the shoe, and their upper ends free to be removably connected to thesnap button members above. All other of said straps have their lowerends located against the inner face of the shoe, and their upper ends onthe outer face ofthe shoe with the members 5 at their upper free ends,so that they may be quickly attached and detached.

This is a preferred arrangement because the upper end of the straps maybe more quickly manipulated in lacing and unlaoing the shoe.

Various slight changes might be made in the general form and arrangementof parts described without departing from my invention, and hence I donot limit myselfto the precise details set forth, but consider myself atliberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall within thespirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a shoe, of crossed straps constituting a lacingfor the shoe, snap button members permanently securing one end of eachstrap to the shoe, other snap button members fixed to the free ends ofsaid straps and each adapted to engage one of such first-mentioned snapbutton members, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a shoe, of a series of crossed strapsconstituting a lacing for the shoe, said straps arranged in pairs, snapbutton members permanently securing the name to this specification inthe presence of lower ends of all of the straps to the shoe, twosubseribingwitnesses. other snap button members on the upper H T ends ofsaid straps, and each adapted to JOIN VEHRWEIN' engage one of suchfirst-mentioned snap WVitnesses:

button members, substantially as described. MARY E. DITTUS, In testimonywhereof I have signed my CHAS. E. PoTTs.

Copies 0! this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0."

